


The Autumn Leaves (CHANBAEK)

by anonymouswriter2908



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Fanfiction, Fluff, Heartbreak, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-10-23 23:41:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17693399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymouswriter2908/pseuds/anonymouswriter2908
Summary: What happens when you realize you have romantic feeling for your best friend AFTER he he gets taken?





	1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

It was finally autumn. Chanyeol pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he walked back home. As he crossed the park, he just stood there to gaze at the trees for a bit. There was just something about autumn that he loved. How the air was just the perfect kind of cold, cold enough to have to wear a jacket, but not cold enough to freeze water. 

Besides, he loved the colours of autumn. The vibrant orange, red and yellow leaves made the park look like it was alit with a majestic fire, one so beautiful, it was impossible to turn your eyes away. There was something about the way nature comes alive, even as her falling leaves dance a joyful goodbye, that put a smile on Chanyeol’s face.

He had gone shopping for school supplies since school started the next day. Senior year. His final year in school. He was happy that after this year, he didn’t have to go to school anymore. It was not that he hated school, he loved learning actually. He was one of the top students in the class. No, his problem wasn’t learning. It was the people he has to deal with every day. He didn’t exactly have too many friends. Though the ones he did have were extremely popular, the exact opposite of him. He always felt that he never fit in with them, but they always encouraged him and defended him. They were the most loyal and, well, the only friends he had. He sighed as he thought about the next day. 

“Just one more year, Chanyeol. Just one more.” He reassured himself. Then he would be off to college, leaving all of this behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Chanyeol walked into school, he felt extremely low in spirits. He generally didn’t like school and it was too early in the morning for him to have to deal with people. He could hear the chatter around him, friends catching up after a long vacation, bragging about the places they went to, the people they met, the food they had. Others, not wanting to seem boring, seemed to make up dramatic stories about wondrous lands and beautiful people, their supposed flings and so on. That’s one of the things Chanyeol didn’t like about school, the peer pressure that made you do all sorts of things just to fit in.

Suddenly, a wave of pain coursed through his back. He was furious and had the mind to give an earful to whoever dared to do this. He turned around so fast that it would have given someone who was watching whiplash and came face-to-face with………no one. Confused, he looked down, since he was taller than most people, and saw the grinning face of his best friend since childhood, Byun Baekhyun. “Oi, people thought you died during the vacations since you never came out. Do you know how many people asked me if you were okay?” He asked as he began walking down the corridor. “Uhh, I’m guessing no one since barely anyone even knows my name. Also,” Chanyeol said and smacked Baekhyun on the back of his head, “that’s for my back.”

“OWWWWWWW!!!!! THAT HURTS YOU ASSHOLE!!!” Baekhyun screamed dramatically as he clutched his head. Immediately a huge crowd surrounded them to check on Baek. “Baek are you okay?” “Oh my gosh, are you hurt really bad?” “SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE BAEK HAS A CONCUSSION!!” There was an entire ruckus for nothing, and while everyone checked on Baekhyun, no one noticed Chanyeol slipping away quietly. Chanyeol tended to forget how popular and well-loved his only friend was. He didn’t mind that Baek had so many friends, but he was not a very social person, and he felt left out in many situations such as this. He was lost in his thoughts as he walked to his classroom.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Guys, guys, relax. It was nothing. Chan and I were just playing around.” Baekhyun tried getting the crowd that was even more dramatic than him to calm down and disperse since he knew Chanyeol did not like these kinds of situations. When he had convinced everyone that he was, in fact, alright and the crowd started to thin, he couldn’t find Chan anywhere. Knowing the tall idiot would have probably slipped off to class when all those people crowded around him, he sighed and began walking to his class which, unfortunately, he did not share with Chanyeol. 

He had known Chanyeol since they were six, when Baekhyun and his parents had moved to the house opposite Chanyeol’s. He still remembered the day they first met. He had been playing football in the yard with his brother, Baekbeom when they accidentally kicked the ball across the street into Chanyeol’s yard. He and his brother had gone to retrieve the ball, when, they saw a boy with unusually large ears poke his head out the front window. It had been a week since he moved there, but this was the first time he saw this boy. 

“Hey! I haven’t seen you here since I’ve arrived. Do you wanna play football with us? I don’t wanna have to play with just my brother!” Baekbeom had said. Baekhyun was still a shy child, so he didn’t say anything, but apparently, Chanyeol was worse. His head immediately disappeared from the window and he went running back into the house. That was the last they saw of him for a week.

The next time they saw Chan was a week later when Chan’s mother invited them over for lunch. The two mums were ecstatic that they had sons of the same age since they could keep each other’s company. The two boys were so shy and refused to even leave their mothers’ laps. Suddenly, there were chittering noises from the backyard. Hearing the sounds, Chanyeol leaped up from his mother’s lap and ran to the backyard. Urged by his mother, Baekhyun followed. When he went to the backyard, he saw Chanyeol feeding two ferrets and let out a small gasp of surprise. Hearing him, Chanyeol turned around to see Baekhyun eyeing his pets with a fearful curiosity. He realized Baekhyun wanted to play with them but was too shy to say so. So, for the first time, Chanyeol decided to take the initiative and found his voice. 

“You wanna come and play? They won’t hurt you. I trained them with my dad!” He mentioned proudly. Slowly, Baekhyun approached Chanyeol and the ferrets. “Are you sure I can play with them?” He asked, talking to Chanyeol for the first time. “Yeah sure! They really like new people!” Chanyeol said while handing one of the ferrets to Baekhyun. He held it cautiously, not wanting to frighten it for fear of getting hurt.  
“It's so soft!” He exclaimed. They spent the rest of the evening playing together with ferrets. That’s how their friendship began. They were mostly together all the time. 

They never spent a holiday without each other, spent all happy moments and sad moments together. They knew each other the best. There was no room for judgment as well since they had seen each other at their worst as well as at their best. It was the best kind of friendship.  
By now he was seated in class, and his teacher began roll call, effectively putting an end to his reminiscing.


	4. Chapter 4

As the students milled into the cafeteria during lunch, happy to have a break from the monotonous classes, a certain brunette looked for his tall, lanky friend amongst the crowd. It wasn’t difficult to spot Chanyeol, his head could be seen above all others.

“Oi, Chan! I got us a place in line!” Baekhyun yelled. Chanyeol looked around dazedly, in confusion, unable to spot his tiny friend. “Over here Yoda!” Baekhyun screamed grinning. Hearing the awful nickname, Chanyeol somehow immediately spotted his friend and rushed over to thump him on the head once again. But he looked at the number of people in the cafeteria and changed his mind.

“So……. Guess what I found out?” Baek asked. “What?” “I found out that a certain Minsoek is in your chemistry class” He replied smirking. At the mention of his name, Chanyeol’s face flushed a deep crimson. By then it was their turn to get food and the lunch ladies looked concerned and asked if he was feeling well since he looked like he had a fever. He assured them he was fine and briskly walked back to the table once he got his food, avoiding any eye contact with Baekhyun. “I’m still waiting for an answer you know?”

“Uhm…. Uh…. Y-yeah. He i-is. S-so what?” He stuttered. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN SO WHAT THIS IS KIM FREAKING MINSOEK WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE YOU HAVE LIKED HIM FOR ALMOST EVER” Chanyeol quickly put his hand over Baekhyun’s mouth and looked around to see if anyone had heard. Thankfully everyone seemed to be minding their own business. 

"Can you not shout please" He hissed as he sat at a table.

"How are you not jumping from joy right now? It looks like I'm more excited than you are right now. Come on Chanyeol, give me something. I know you're probably dying with excitement on the inside."

"Well, not exactly. I can't be too happy, considering I have wayyyyy too many opportunities to embarrass myself."

"Chill he is just in the same class it’s not like you're lab partners or something." Baekhyun chuckled. At that, Chanyeol became way to quiet and suddenly found the vandalized table extremely interesting. "What's wrong?" Baekhyun asked. "Well, uhm, about the lab partners thing....." He trailed off. Realization dawned on Baek. "NO WAY! HOW DID YOU NOT COME RUNNING TO ME TO TELL ME ABOUT THIS FIRST THING AFTER CLASS?" "WILL YOU STOP YELLING PLEASE" "Fine. Just tell me more."

"Well everyone in that class knew others except for me. So, when the teacher asked us to pick partners, I just sat there expecting to work alone when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked back to see who it was and was met with a grinning Minsoek, asking me if we could be lab partners. Sigh. He knew my name Baekhyun! How did he know my name?!!!"

"Well...... you see......." Baekhyun trailed off.

"Go on."

"We met during the summer through a mutual friend and.........." 

"And?" Chanyeol kind of knew where this was going, but he hoped his friend didn't do crazy shit like that.

I might have had a lot to say about you......" Baekhyun said sheepishly.

Suspicions confirmed. "YOU WHAT???!!!!!!" Chanyeol looked positively horrified. "BYUN BAEKHYUN WHO ASKED YOU TO DO SHIT LIKE THAT??!!!" "Now who's screaming?!!" Asked an annoyed, yet slightly scared Baekhyun. "You weren't gonna man up and make a move so I thought I might speed things up a little. I just told him it would be a good idea for all of us to be friends considering your circle of friends isn't that big in the first place."

"Ugh. Now he probably just feels bad for a loner like me. That's definitely why he decided to be my lab partner. That or he just wants a good grade. On top of that, I'm always a bumbling fool around him. Thank you Baekhyun because I will fail school and study here another year since I'll have to skip Chemistry for the rest of the senior year CUZ I CAN NEVER FACE HIM AGAIN."

"You could never face him in the first place." Baekhyun pointed out.

"Oh, shut up."

"Well if you are that intent on staying away, you might not wanna turn back anytime soon."

"Hey Chanyeol, Baekhyun! Can we sit with you guys?" At the sound of that voice, he stopped chewing and almost dropped his sandwich. His stomach suddenly filled with butterflies and left no room for food. "Yeah sure Minsoek!" Baekhyun replied, ignoring Chan's death glare. It made no difference. He looked like a puppy either way. Minsoek and a few of his friends, namely Jongdae as he likes to call himself and Junmyeon came and sat down with them. There were quick introductions, throughout which Chanyeol stayed quiet, just like he did for the rest of lunch. He couldn't even eat since his longtime crush was sitting right next to him. Everyone around him just talked and joked with each other and he tried not to be too aware of Minsoek sitting next to him.

"How come you aren't eating anything?" Minsoek asked Chanyeol. "Oh, I-I'm just n-not that h-hungry!" He replied a little too loudly in a squeaky voice. He looked across the table and saw Baekhyun suppressing laughter. He suddenly had the urge to shove the food tray down Baek's throat.

"Are you alright? Your face is really red and you're sweating a lot. Do you have a fever?" Minsoek reached out to check Chanyeol's temperature. Before he could make contact, Chanyeol jumped up and yelled,"I'm fine but I have to leave now!" Before running away. Everyone just watched him run away, everyone except Baekhyun confused by his behavior.

Baekhyun was dead. Chanyeol would make sure of that. But somehow it was worth it. Baekhyun knew his friend was happy and Chanyeol was happy his crush at least knew of his existence now.


	5. Chapter 5

"HELLOOOOOOO" Baekhyun sang (screeched) as he walked into Chanyeol's room. He saw Chanyeol wrapped up in a blanket, hugging his guitar.

"Go away!" A muffled voice replied from within the cocoon. "Not until you tell me why you're suddenly all depressed or some shit."

"I embarrassed myself before Minsoek. I'm not leaving this room ever again."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time you've done this, and it certainly will not be the last so get out of that blanket."

"NO." "GET OUT!" Baekhyun commanded, trying to pull the sheets off Chanyeol, "LET GO. JUST GET OUT OF THE DAMNED BLANKET PLEASE."

"NO." Chanyeol yelled back at him, clutching on to his blanket for dear life. 

 

"Look Chanyeol, you're gonna be seeing him practically every day and you are definitely gonna have to learn how to talk to him without stuttering. So please, come out of the blanket and go for a walk with me. Please?" Two large eyes popped out from the blanket and Baekhyun felt he made some progress.

"Fine. But you are getting me ice cream as an apology."

"Hell no! First, I'm broke. And second, an apology for what?"

"For letting Minsoek and his friends sit with us."

"FINE-UH!"

\------

"You know I didn't think it would be that easy for me to get you to get out of bed and talk to me again." Baekhyun said as he and Chanyeol walked side by side while eating ice cream. 

"Well, I got you to spend the last of your money and second, I haven't forgiven you just yet. I mean, there is a reason I asked you to get me ice cream." Chanyeol responded. For a second Baekhyun was confused, then he quickly realized. Chanyeol always got the cookies and cream flavor, but today he got bubblegum, which he hated. Baekhyun hadn't noticed before, but suddenly everything fell into place and he tried to run away as fast as possible. Apparently, it wasn't fast enough, cuz a second later, there was ice cream all over his shirt.  
Baekhyun just stood stunned for a few seconds while Chanyeol laughed his ass off. As he was about to retaliate with his own, precious chocolate ice cream, he saw the happiness on Chanyeol's face, his eyes crinkling and his mouth open so wide in laughter you can basically see all his teeth. At that moment, Baek decided he was happy just seeing the taller that happy (partially since he was kind of the reason he was sad in the first place), and instead decided to just walk away, leaving Chanyeol laughing all alone like an idiot, knowing he would follow.

"Baekhyun WAIT!!!"

Baekhyun smirked. He was right. Of course he was.


	6. Chapter 6

Chanyeol couldn't pay attention in class. At all. It was too difficult when Kim-freaking-Minsoek was sitting right next to him. He kept fidgeting and tried so hard to calm his racing heart. He was so nervous, and it was ridiculous. They hadn't even spoken since that embarrassing lunch. A tap on his shoulder made him nearly fall out of his chair. 

"You okay? It's just me." Minsoek chuckled. "I don't think the teacher noticed your mental absence, so don't freak."

"Oh no! I-I'm alright!" Chanyeol squeaked nervously. "W-what do w-we have to d-do now?" God! Why can't he stop stuttering? He wished the floor would just open up and swallow him whole. Chanyeol was a shy boy by nature and interacting with his longtime crush did not exactly help his social skills (or lack thereof). Minsoek pointed to the board which was filled with equations. "We have to perform that experiment and write our observations."

"Okay. That shouldn't be too hard." Chanyeol thought. He was so wrong. Every time Minsoek leaned close to observe the experiment, or when their hands brushed against each other, Chanyeol felt like he was gonna burst into flames. By the time they finished their work and cleaned up, he felt like he couldn't breathe.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. "Oh, thank God! I should leave quickly it isn't good for my heart if I stay here much longer." Chanyeol thought. As people began to leave, "Children wait! I have some homework for you. I want you all to make a model of an atom by Friday. It is a pair work that you will do with your lab partner. Class dispersed."

Well, shit. Chanyeol looked at Minsoek. It's no big deal. Just a model right?

"Ummmmm........ D- do you want to c-come over to my house t-today to work on the model?" There. He took the first step. "Sure! I'll just call my mom and tell her. Let's meet at the school gates after the last bell. Hey, you know what? I actually have this really cool idea for the model.... " As Minsoek spoke about the model, they walked out of class together, and the whole time Chanyeol was smiling like an idiot.

\---------------

School was over and Chanyeol was waiting for Minsoek by the gates. It had been almost ten minutes since the bell rang and he was nowhere to be seen. Out of nowhere, Baekhyun skipped towards him. "Hey, There you are! I was looking for you everywhere! Come on, let's go now."

"Uh.... Actually, I can't. I have some work today so you go home by yourself." Chanyeol replied. "What could be so important that you neglect your best friend and his needs to have company wherever he goes?" Baekhyun pouted. "Minsoek is coming over today."

Baekhyun's eyes grew wide as he processed this. "Wow. How did this even happen?" He asked, astounded.

"Well we had a project and I asked him to come over." "You?!! YOU asked HIM??!!! Without melting into a puddle??!!! Fish may as well start climbing trees!"

"Look, it isn't THAT surprising - "

"YES! IT IS! THE FACT THAT YOU EVEN TALKED TO HIM IS SURPRISING! YOU CAN'T EVEN SIT NEXT TO HIM HOW THE HELL DID YOU -" Baekhyun clamped his mouth shut when he saw Minsoek coming towards them.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Chanyeol. I had doubts about my physics assignment and I was talking to the teacher about them. Were you waiting here long?" And then he finally noticed Baekhyun. "Oh hey Baekhyun! How come you're still here?"

"Well usually I walk home with this giant idiot but looks like he has plans today. I also have to go to the grocery store so don't worry about me. Good luck on your project guys!" Baekhyun waved as he left.

"So, shall we?" Minsoek asked, and they walked towards Chanyeol's house.


	7. Chapter 7

As Minsoek walked into his room, Chanyeol immediately felt embarrassed. It wasn't like his room was dirty he had cleaned it just the day before, but his crush wanna gonna see his room for the first time, and it was filled with posters of musicians, post its where he wrote his reminders and books everywhere.

"Nice room~" Minsoek let out a little whistle as he walked in. One poster in specific happened to catch his eye. "HEY YOU LIKE EXO?!!!"

"Well, uh, yeah. They are kinda my favorite singers." Chanyeol replied as he rubbed his nape. "Mine too!!" Minsoek grinned, without knowing what that smile did to Chanyeol's heart.

"So what's your favorite song?" "M-m-maybe Unfair?" 

"Why? Is there someone you would call unfair in that sense?" Minsoek teased, but Chanyeol's heart leaped to his throat. Shit. Did he know? "HAHAHAHAHA NO OF COURSE NOT! WHY would you think that?" He forced out, practically yelling. "I was just kidding." Minsoek chuckled. 

Chanyeol turned away to clean his bed for more space for them to sit and to hide his flaming red face. Once he felt calmed down (well, as calm as he could with Minsoek in the vicinity), he turned back and suggested they start on the project so that they don't work too late into the evening. As they worked on the model, they talked and learned a lot about each other, how Chanyeol loved animals almost as much he loved EXO, that Minsoek liked blue while Chanyeol liked white and that Minsoek is a huge soccer buff. 

As they were laughing about something Minsoek said, something caught his eye. "You play the guitar?" He asked Chanyeol. "Yeah, um, I've been playing since forever. I can even compose a little bit." He replied shyly. Minsoek just looked at Chanyeol expectantly. "Why are you staring?" "Well, aren't you gonna play one of your compositions for me?" "Oh, s-should I?" "Well, if you're comfortable."

Don't be shy, take initiative. He could literally hear Baekhyun saying that. "Okay then. I'll just play something small. I actually composed this with Baekhyun." "Cool!"

Chanyeol then proceeded to play the piece. It was a great song, with sweet lyrics. It's the kind of song you would want to while sitting alone in a grassy field on a spring day. But Minsoek wasn't concentrating on that, no. He was looking at Chanyeol. He found the shy boy extremely cute, all his actions were endearing and adorable. He always looked somewhat tense, but right now, while playing the guitar and singing in that deep voice of his, he just seemed so relaxed, so comfortable. You could tell how much he loved playing the guitar, just by the way he was holding it in his large hands. He played so skillfully with so much soul, his eyes closed and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he played the last few notes. 

He was so concentrated in observing Chanyeol throughout the song, while Chanyeol was busy playing, that both of them did not see the newcomer until they heard claps. "Wow Chanyeol- ah! It seems like your voice suits the song better than mine!" "Baekhyun?" "Oh right. I thought you guys would be done with the project so I came over to spend some time with you, but I see that you're still busy. Just call me when you're done." 

"Wait done already? What's the time?" Minsoek asked, checking his watch."Shit! It's already 6? I gotta get home Chanyeol! Shall we work on this sometime later?" "Yeah sure! I'll, uh, take you downstairs. Baek, you just wait here" "Alright then. Bye Baekhyun! See you at school!"

"Bye!" Baekhyun said cheerily as he sat on Chanyeol's bed. A frown settled on his face the moment the two left the room. He couldn't exactly say what was wrong, but he knew he just didn't like Chanyeol playing THEIR song to Minsoek. It left him feeling unsettled. He is the one who wanted them to get along right? If this is how they connect, then it should be fine. Chanyeol's his friends, he should only want him to be happy. He just shook off the uneasiness and waited for Chanyeol to come back upstairs so he could grill him for information on what happened with Minsoek.


	8. Chapter 8

As the days progressed, Chanyeol and Minsoek started to spend more time with each other. It became easier for Chanyeol to speak to Minsoek without becoming a stuttering mess. Though most of the time spent in each other's company was for school work, they managed to find time to speak about themselves and learn about each other, their interests, hobbies, and opinions on various matters. Chanyeol was over the moon cuz he was FINALLY getting closer to his longtime crush. Minsoek and his friends sitting with Chanyeol and Baekhyun for lunch now became a regular occurrence. Chanyeol was quite shy around Chen and Junmyeon, so he wouldn't talk too much during lunch, but as time wore on, he became more relaxed around all of them. His circle of friends slowly expanded and he was making a determined to get over his social awkwardness.

Every day, after school ends, Chanyeol would now have more people who would say goodbye to him, more people he could talk to while waiting for Baekhyun to show up so that they could walk home together. Baekhyun was still his best friend and they still practically lived at each other's house, but now Chanyeol had more people he could depend on. For a long, long time, Baekyun was his only friend, and he was quite content with that. As he made new friends, he somehow felt happier, lighter even. He felt excited as walked to school every day and felt sad when school ended since he wanted to spend more time with his friends. He wished he would never stop feeling like this.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Minsoek watched the tall, lanky boy with large ears as he poured a chemical into the test tube. He happened to notice a really adorable habit of his, which was that he would slightly pout whenever he was really focused on something. Lately, they had been meeting up more often and Chanyeol played more music for Minsoek. Chanyeol noticed him staring and gave him a questioning look, to which he responded with a shrug, making Chanyeol grin. It was then that he realised that grin did things to his heart that it shouldn't have, not if they were just friends.


End file.
